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Privacy Statement

Manifold is committed to genuine privacy on the Internet.

Regrettably, much of the economic engine driving Internet is based on the sophisticated hijacking of your personal information by commercial web sites and subsequent sale or trading of that information for advertising purposes. We don't do that at Manifold. Except for the limited release of specific information, such as credit card transaction information required to process an order, we won't ever release customer information to anyone else, period.

Note that the above privacy policy will at times pose inconveniences for customers as we really mean that we won't release any information to anyone else. For example, only the person who placed an order can communicate with Manifold regarding that order. Manifold will not accept assurances from some third party that "it is OK to talk to me about this account." Only by maintaining airtight security on customer accounts can we be sure that we don't release customer information to third parties. We trust customers will understand that maintaining privacy on Internet at times will involve minor inconveniences.

Privacy Principles

Because your privacy is important to us, Manifold sites displaying this privacy statement will operate by the following six principles. Users should additionally consult the Frequently Asked Questions section accompanying this statement for more information regarding the principles.

Principle 1: Manifold sites will explicitly ask when they need information that personally identifies you or allows them to contact you ("Personal Information"). Generally this information is requested when registering for a site that requires registration for access, when requesting a particular service, when placing an order or when entering a sweepstakes or contest. When possible, Manifold sites will provide you with the means to make sure that your Personal Information is correct and current.

Principle 2: Manifold sites and their necessary service partners use your Personal Information to operate the sites and services and to inform you of service updates to existing products, new features, services, and products from Manifold and its affiliates. "Service partners" are organizations such as banks and credit card processing clearing facilities who are directly and necessarily involved in transactions you have authorized such as processing payment for orders, dealing with credit card transactions, wire transfers, clearing checks, collecting debts or reporting on unpaid debts. "Service partners" do not include other organizations such as third parties who want to sell you something. We never release any Personal Information to unnecessary third parties, nor do we ever sell or lease any information lists.

Principle 3: From time to time we may email registered customers informational notices as well as the occasional customer newsletter. Newsletters are very infrequent to avoid pestering customers. Although new products may be announced in these newsletters, they are in general intended to be service notices and other non-spam information. You may stop the delivery of informational or promotional mail from Manifold sites by following the instructions in the email.

Principle 4: Manifold sites are not primarily directed at children. We make no effort to collect Personal Information from children nor will we knowingly retain such information from children.

Principle 5: Manifold sites may disclose Personal Information if required to do so by Hong Kong law or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to the edicts of Hong Kong law or comply with Hong Kong legal process; (b) protect and defend the reputation, rights or property of Manifold, the site or the users of Manifold, and (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users or employees or agents or affiliates of Manifold, the site or the public. Note that because all Manifold sites and interactions are governed by Hong Kong law you have exceptionally strong privacy as compared to promiscuously invasive jurisdications such as the US. For example, litigants routinely abuse "discovery" processes in the US to obtain private information through court order, secure in the knowledge that courts in the US rarely sanction attorneys who obtain such orders in bad faith or through false allegations - that doesn't work in Hong Kong, where courts do not allow fishing expeditions to invade your privacy based on unproven allegations.

Principle 6: If at any time you believe that a Manifold site has not adhered to these principles, please notify Manifold by e-mail at sales@manifold.net and we will use all commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and correct the problem.

For more information about our privacy statement, see the following Frequently Asked Questions or the FAQs accompanying the Manifold sites. Please note that this Privacy Statement does not apply to unauthorized accesses or to utilization of Manifold sites outside their terms of use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all sites on manifold.net follow these privacy principles?

manifold.net is made up of many sites, and new ones are added all the time. Given the nature of Internet technology (in particular, the use of links or pages with many links to other sites) some of these sites may incorporate elements that are not under our direct control. At this time, the Manifold privacy statement applies to those sites which display this statement in conjunction with the privacy notice on the site's Web pages. While Manifold encourages other site operators involved in any way with Manifold to comply with these principles, users should carefully examine the privacy statements of sites appearing on or linking to or from manifold.net which do not display this statement. Personal Information that you choose to provide to other sites will be subject to the privacy policies of that other web site. Although we rarely display banners or any advertising, there may appear some banners or other foreign content elements in Manifold sites. Clicking on such elements will teleport you into someone else's hands: don't assume they follow the same privacy principles we do.

How will users know which privacy statement applies to their Personal Information?

Pages throughout manifold.net display a "Privacy Statement" link which identifies the statement applying to the site. Users may click on the link at any time to read the applicable statement (usually this statement).

Does Manifold belong to any privacy organizations?

No. There are some fine and sincere organizations and people involved in privacy on the web, but for the most part we think the so-called "privacy" organizations are just an elaborate way for people to lower their standards on privacy and to provide some legitimization for ripping off your email and preferences and selling them or trading them for advertising use. Note how many "privacy" statements say the personal information you collect can be shared with "carefully selected" third parties that want to sell you something. The other problem is that privacy organizations rapidly become a target for their local governments: before you know it, the privacy consortium is negotiating with the local government on what is a fair and reasonable way for that government to listen in on email, prevent citizens from using encryption to assure their own privacy and the like. There's only one real statement of privacy: don't say a word about your customers or visitors to any third party, period.

Do all sites on manifold.net need Personal Information?

No. For many Manifold sites it is not necessary for you to provide any information in order for them to provide their services. In other instances, the Manifold site may request minimal information in order to personalize the site or, in the case of bulletin boards and the like, to enable other participants to contact you if you allow. Some sites, such as the Online Store, will require very detailed information in order to assure that any financial transactions are in fact authorized by you.

How do Manifold sites collect Personal Information?

Personal Information is collected by specifically requesting it from you. Generally this occurs when you register at a site, request a service, or enter an online contest or store.

What about Cookies?

Cookies are pieces of information that a Web site transfers to your computer's hard disk for record-keeping purposes. Cookies can make the Web more useful by storing information about your preferences on a particular site or to avoid "endless loop" navigation in the case of some complex sites. The use of cookies is an industry standard (albeit one that is frequently misused), and many major Web sites use them to provide useful features for their customers. Cookies in and of themselves do not personally identify users, although they do identify a user's computer. Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If you'd prefer, you can set yours to refuse cookies. However, you may not be able to take full advantage of a Web site if you do so. Frankly, we don't like cookies for philosophical reasons but we have no technical alternative in some cases. We only use cookies when the semi-automated site design software we use for sites such as the Online Store requires it to achieve functionality. We don't use cookies in any way to attempt to infer your identity or otherwise "tag" you.

How do Manifold sites use Personal Information?

Usually, Manifold sites and their necessary service partners (such as credit card processing institutions) use your Personal Information to operate the site and to deliver their services. For example, if you use the Online Store to purchase a product, your credit card information will be used by a credit card processing institution to clear the transaction with your issuing bank. Manifold sites also use your Personal Information to inform you of other products or services available from Manifold and its immediate affiliates. We do not sell or rent or trade any Personal Information to any third party.

Does that mean Manifold sites sell my Personal Information to other companies?

No, Manifold does not sell, rent or trade customer lists. We don't release Personal Information at all. Note that this is a much higher standard of privacy than applied by most banks in the United States. US banks will frequently sell demographic and personal financial information on the actions and habits of their clients. In contrast, Manifold will never release information.

What about companies that partner with Manifold sites to provide the site's products or services?

A Manifold site may have several necessary service partners who assist in providing the service or product associated with the site. As part of the operations of the site, these companies may have access to your Personal Information. These companies may provide routine services, such as credit card processing, or may provide essential elements of the site. These uses of Personal Information are primary to the operation of the site and are not considered Secondary Uses. It may be that from time to time we arrange special discounts for our customers for products or services from other companies; however, if we ever so arrange this will be accomplished in a way that your Personal Information is not disclosed to the other company. For example, we might provide a special discount code to you and then you could use this code if you decided to contact the other company. But we won't share your personal information with the other company.

What about the Privacy of children?

Manifold does not operate any sites designed for children. Because we require payment by wire transfer or credit cards, it is not likely that a child could place an unauthorized order unless the adult guardian of the credit card has either authorized a purchase or has been negligent in keeping their credit cards secure from their child. We will not knowingly process an order generated by a child (or any other person) who might not have authorization to use their parent's credit card number. However, considering the serious technical nature of our products and the importance of assisting gifted children in mathematics and other uses of Manifold, we will do our best to encourage gifted children and their parents without collecting Personal Information from the gifted child.

Do Manifold sites collect other forms of information about users?

In addition to the use of Personal Information to operate Manifold sites, a Manifold site may also gather anonymous information, which may then be used by Manifold. This is information which does not personally identify you, but which may be helpful for marketing purposes or for improving the services we offer. For example, Manifold may analyze web access logs to see which parts of our site are more popular than others, or to infer which regions of the world are using our sites at different times of the day. Generally this information is collected through traffic data and statistical analysis of web server logs kept by standard web servers such as Microsoft IIS or Apache. This restriction does not apply to any accesses outside published sites and their components. This Privacy Statement does not apply to unauthorized accesses or to utilization of Manifold sites outside their terms of use.

How do I correct or change Personal Information that I have given to a Manifold site?

Some Manifold sites may operate registration pages that allow you to review and update the Personal Information you have submitted. Elsewhere, you may simply be given the option of unsubscribing to the service for which you signed up. In all other cases where you need to correct Personal Information you have submitted to a Manifold site, please contact the service address published by the particular Manifold site.

Is my Personal Information secure from others using the Manifold site?

Personal Information collected by Manifold sites is stored in secure operating environments that are not available to the public. In many instances, such as in the case of credit card numbers, the Personal Information is stored in encrypted form even within the secure environment. Information within Manifold is kept in encrypted systems with both physical and logical access restricted to a limited number of our accounting personnel. Such systems are kept on physically separate networks that are not connected to development or other internal networks. Our focus on personal security and privacy may at times prevent us from making it easy to update Personal Information via publicly-accessible web sites.

In addition to directly providing information to a Manifold site, you might also provide Personal Information through chat sessions, e-mail exchanges or bulletin board use made available to you on manifold.net. The Statement of Privacy does not cover this type of transfer of your Personal Information. You should always be careful when distributing your Personal Information in this manner. If you are visiting our sites from a public computer, such as one made available for public use at a library, make sure not to leave the computer with any Personal Information remaining visible on screen.